FDA approves first RSV vaccine

(NBC) - The Food and Drug Administration has approved the world's first RSV vaccine for adults ages 60 and up.

The attempt to develop a vaccine for Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) has been decades in the making.

This one developed by pharmaceutical giant GSK.

A late stage trial found that a single dose of the shot lowered the risk of symptomatic illness by 83% and of severe illness by 94%.

The CDC must still recommend the vaccine before it becomes available to the public and will meet in June to discuss how the shot should be used.

GSK says the company is already manufacturing doses of the vaccine which will be sold under the brand name Arexvy.

RSV is a common respiratory virus that typically causes mild, cold-like symptoms in healthy adults.

But RSV can also be serious, and even fatal in some cases, especially for infants and older adults.

GSK's trial showed that protection from its vaccine lasted at least six months.